Better Late Than Never
by Leiria
Summary: Once, while on the hunt for Horcruxes, Hermione asked Harry if he ever thought about throwing in the towel and staying there. Growing old. He didn't tell her how perfect the thought of growing old with her in that forest really was that day, but now, a week before her wedding and three years after the fact, Harry uses some liquid courage to tell Hermione how he feels.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is an unofficial Harry Potter story, meaning that it has no connection to Warner Bros., J K Rowling, or any other publishing house connected to the Harry Potter books or movies. No money is involved in the creation of this story. It's just a story by a fan for other fans to read.**

**Note: This story was inspired by an image I saw on Facebook shared in the Harmony group I'm a part of. I thought about making it a one-shot, but a longer story seemed better for what I want to do with this story.**

**Better Late Than Never**

Harry sat down next to Hermione by the firepit outside their tent. She held her hands out to it to warm them up. "It's getting colder," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. "I know," she said. "We're not going to be able to stay out here like this much longer."

Harry nodded his agreement. "It's not like we have a lot of options," he added. "I mean, it's camping out here or it's… worse."

"It is nice out here, isn't it?" Hermione asked. She sighed and rest her head on Harry's shoulder. He felt his heart start beating faster and his stomach tie itself up in knots. "Do you ever think about just throwing in the towel and staying here forever?" she asked. "Grow old?"

Harry sighed. "At this point, I'm almost positive that the only way I'm going to grow old _is_ by throwing in the towel and staying here. But I also don't think that You Know Who will stop looking for me. The prophecy and all…."

Hermione sighed. "Yeah, that part makes it difficult," she agreed. "I just wish Dumbledore could have given you something more to go off of. Maybe then Ron wouldn't have… left."

"Or he still might have. I mean, he is the one who thought we'd all be home by Christmas. And I told you both not to come with me. I said that I would do it all on my own."

"I know that, Harry, but…"

Harry chuckled. "I know I'm not smart enough to do this on my own," he said. "Doesn't mean that I wasn't willing to try."

"It's not that you're not smart enough, Harry. You are. You just don't think about the little things. You're so focused on the bigger picture that the details of it get lost. And you don't ever apply yourself. I honestly can't understand why you didn't devour your school books before ever stepping foot in King's Cross for the first time. When they told me I was a Witch… I couldn't get enough."

"And that's why I bet the Sorting Hat wanted to put you into Ravenclaw."

"How did you know that?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry. "I've never told anyone that."

Harry smirked. "Hermione, you're literally the brightest witch of our age," he said. "It doesn't take much to figure out that you're the smartest Gryffindor probably ever. Or at least since my mother and Lupin were at school. I'll bet the only reason the Sorting Hat _didn't_ put you in Ravenclaw is that you value bravery over intelligence."

Hermione pulled away from him and stared at her best friend. "And how did you know _that?_" she asked.

Harry laughed. "You don't remember?" he asked. "First year in the potion room. You told me that bravery was far more important than books or cleverness. _That's_ why you're a Gryffindor. You're smart as hell, Hermione, but you're also going to jump off that bridge if what's at the bottom is worth the risk and you'll be the first one to do it."

Hermione smiled. "True," she agreed. She sighed and looked back at the fire. "Now if only I could be smart enough to figure out what Dumbledore didn't tell you…."

* * *

Three Years Later

Harry looked at the glass of Firewhisky in his hand and sighed as he set it down on the table in front of him. He rubbed his scar. It hadn't hurt in years. Everything had been quiet since Voldemort died. He hadn't needed to worry about anything in a long time, aside from dodging reporters or other people clamoring for a chance to meet the Boy Who Lived. Most days, Harry dreaded leaving his house. He didn't want to live like this anymore. He wanted to find somewhere out in the middle of nowhere and build a life for himself.

He picked up the pen next to him and put the tip to the parchment next to his glass. He was drunk enough that the liquid courage made the words come easy.

_Hermione,  
__ Remember when you said we should stay in the forest and grow old? Well, I never told you how perfect that sounded. Better late than never, right?  
__Love,  
__Harry_

Harry stared at the paper for a moment before he tapped it with his wand. The letter disappeared and he wondered how much she would hate him for his admission. She was supposed to get married next week. Harry was supposed to be Ron's best man. The closer it got to their nuptials, the more Harry couldn't stand the thought of standing aside while his best friend got the woman of both their dreams.

Sure, he had Ginny waiting for him the moment he said something, but he didn't want to. He didn't want _her_. She reminded him of too many horrors. The Chamber of Secrets. The Horcruxes. His dead mother. He loved her, but it wasn't romantic love. He had wanted it to be, years ago when he respected that Ron wanted to be with Hermione.

But Ron paraded Hermione around like a trophy. He showed her off every chance he had. He put her on the spot far too often. Harry could see how uncomfortable it made her. He knew she hated the attention. He knew that every time Ron was dismissive about what Hermione did in the war that he didn't value her as a far as Harry could see, Ron only cared about one thing: Proving that he was better than Harry in the end.

Harry picked up his glass and brought it to his mouth. He tipped his head back, pouring the last of the whiskey down his throat. He winced as it burned its way down and wondered how Hermione would react to his letter.

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. Her wedding dress was everything she wanted it to be. It was short enough that she didn't have to worry about tripping over it, yet long enough to be elegant. She didn't bother with a train. The dress wasn't too over the top or fancy. It was simple. Elegant. Everything she wanted.

Yet she couldn't bring herself to love it. She had put it on to try to get excited about her wedding, but she felt the same apprehension now that she had ten minutes ago. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was starting to wonder if it was more than just cold feet. She shook her head and unzipped her dress. Once it was hanging once more in her closet, she turned back to her bed and sat down. Next to her, on the nightstand, a letter appeared. Hermione reached for it, not knowing who it was from until she opened it and saw Harry's handwriting.

She read the letter to herself, her eyes widening with the implication of Harry's words. She gasped as she finished it. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Crookshanks!" Hermione said, turning around to her orange cat sprawled on her bed. He looked up at her and let out a distinct meow. "Harry loves me," she told the cat. "What should I do?"

Crookshanks meowed again.

Hermione sighed. "You're no help," she said. She laid back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She smiled at the thought that Harry Potter could possibly be in love with her. Instantly, her wedding came to mind, making her frown again. She held her hand up over her face and stared at the engagement ring on her finger. Ron had saved up for a year to buy it for her. His proposal, on the other hand, was far less romantic. He'd tossed the box at her and said simply, "'Bout time for that, don't you think?"

Leaving everything behind and living in the forest with Harry sounded like a much better plan. Hermione sat up and looked at Crookshanks. "Harry or Ron?" she asked.

Crookshanks meowed at her again.

Hermione smiled and held up her right hand. "Harry," she said. She held up her left hand. "Or Ron?"

Crookshanks, the intelligent animal he was, stood up and nuzzled Hermione's right hand and meowed once more.

Hermione smiled and kissed the animal before she stood up. She grabbed some parchment and a pen and sat down at her desk.

_Ron,  
__ I'm sorry. I can't do this. I don't love you the way you want me to and I'm not willing to put myself through the horrors of a loveless marriage. I will not be your trophy any longer. Please know that I hold you in the highest regard as a friend, but I am not willing to remain your fiancé, girlfriend, or your wife.  
__Regards,  
__Hermione_

She sealed the letter and took off her engagement ring. She rolled up the letter and slipped her ring around it before she charmed it to not accidentally fall off. She then tapped it with her wand and the letter disappeared.

She then looked at the room she stood in. She grabbed her school trunk and held out her wand. "_Pack!_" she said, causing her things to fly into her trunk. She then shrunk the truck and cast a lightweight charm on it before putting it in her purse. She picked up Crookshanks. "Let's go get Harry," she said before spun around on her heels and disappeared.

She reappeared in Harry's kitchen in time to see him toss back a shot of Firewhisky. She put Crookshanks down and sat next to Harry. Startled, he stared at her. "You got my letter," he said.

Hermione let out a chuckle. "Oh I did," she said.

Harry stared at her for a moment. "You're not angry," he said.

Hermione shook her head. "Let's go," she said.

His eyes widened. "What?"

Hermione reached out and grabbed the collar of Harry's shirt before she pulled him toward her and kissed him. "You. Me. Forest. Growing old. Let's go."

Harry grinned before he kissed Hermione again and pulled her onto his lap. "What about Ron?" he asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I sent him a letter," she said. "I ended things."

That was the moment they heard Harry's front door open and slam shut. "Harry!" Ron shouted. Hermione moved off of Harry's lap and sat back down on the other chair as Ron entered the room.

His eyes immediately fell on Hermione. He pointed at her. "Get out of my sight," he snarled at her.

"Ron, she has every right to be here," Harry said. "And if you want to sit down and calmly discuss things, you're welcome to join us, but if not, then you need to go."

Ron looked from Harry to Hermione. "All I ever wanted was for you to love me," he said.

"I know," Hermione replied. "And I'm sorry, but I can't give you what you want. Please respect that."

Ron's jaw clenched. His hands clenched at his sides. "To hell with both of you," he snapped before he turned around and marched out of the kitchen. A moment later, the door slammed. Hermione looked back at Harry and held out her hand. Harry gave her a smile and took her hand. "Give me a minute to pack what I want to keep," he said before he kissed the back of her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Better Late Than Never**

Chapter 2

Harry and Hermione stood in the middle of the forest and looked around. They stood in an area with enough of a clearing that they would be able to make themselves a home without disturbing too much of the forest around them. "What do you think?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked around, pinching her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger the way that she always did when she was lost in thought. He noticed her lips moving as if she whispered to herself and wondered what thoughts were going through her head.

After a moment, she nodded. "It's perfect," she said. "Now we just need to figure out what to do to get the land and how to build a house on it."

"Can we just use magic for the house?" Harry asked.

Hermione chuckled. "Obviously," she said. "I don't think either one of us knows the first thing about actually building a house."

"How big do we want it?" Harry asked.

Hermione stared at him for a moment. "Well, obviously big enough for us," she said.

Harry gave her a smile before he reached for her hand and pulled her close to him. He kissed her. "Big enough for two or for more?" he asked. "Is this where we want to grow old? Are we going to have a family together?"

Hermione's heart raced in her throat. "I don't think that part really occurred to me," she whispered. She stepped away from him and let out a sigh. She looked around the clearing. She could easily envision two or three children playing in the woods. She could see their cabin among the trees. "We can add onto it as we need," she said. "Like the Weasley's did with the Burrow. But nicer, of course."

"Of course," Harry said with a chuckle.

She turned back to him and saw a twinkle in his green eyes. "How many kids do you want, Harry?" she asked.

Harry shrugged. "As many as we have," he said. He sat down at the base of a tree and held his hand out for Hermione to join him. "I didn't think I would survive the war," he told her. "I didn't think that I would have a family. I was sure that I was going to die as the last Potter and there wouldn't be anyone else. I actually had a note in my vault at Gringotts leaving everything to you if anything should happen to me." Hermione gasped. "So, when you ask me about a future and family, I don't have any answers because I didn't think I'd have one. I know it's been three years since the war ended, but I feel like I've been in purgatory since the moment Voldemort died. I'm an alcoholic, Hermione." He saw tears glisten in her eyes. "I'm a recluse. I can't even leave my house and go anywhere public without dozens of people demanding an autograph or photo or some sort of anecdote they can retell at family gatherings for years to come about the time they met The Boy Who Lived. That's why I want this," he said, gesturing to the land in front of them. "I want to be free. I want to get away from London and the whole of the wizarding world because I can't take it anymore."

"Harry…"

Harry shook his head. "Don't do that," he said. "No pity."

"Are you sure this is the right thing?" Hermione asked. "What if nothing changes?"

Harry gave her a slight smile. "It's the only choice," he said. "If you're not ready for this, you don't have to come with me," he told her. "You can come when you're ready. But for me? This is the only thing that's going to save my life now. If I stay in that house another minute, I'm going to crawl into a bottle and stay there. I haven't had a drink in two days, Hermione. Since the moment you kissed me. I feel like hell. But this," he gestured to the land again, "this is what's going to keep me going. You and a dream of growing old in a place where no one can find me. Wards to keep people out. Charms to keep people from finding us on a map. A greenhouse so we can have fresh food all year long. We'll go to the nearest town when we need things we can't get ourselves, like meat and dairy." He met her eyes again. "I need this, Hermione," he said. "It's not going to be easy. Some days, we'll probably hate each other. But right now, all I know is that I've loved you since I was fourteen years old and the thought of having a family with you and growing old with you is a dream I would love to see come true."

"You've loved me since you were fourteen?" Hermione whispered.

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he said. "But I knew Ron fancied you and I thought the feelings were mutual, so I stepped aside. I tried to be with Cho, but she was still grieving Cedric. I tried to love Ginny because it was what everyone around us seemed to want. James and Lily, back again." Harry shook his head. "She's like a sister to me, you know? And I know she's waiting for me, but I just can't bring myself to be with someone I don't love."

"What if we don't work out?" Hermione asked. "What if you and I end up being bad for each other?"

Harry laughed. "Hermione, come on," he said. "You and I have always worked well together. We'll fight, yeah, but we'll apologize. You've always pushed me to do better and be better. I've tested your patience and pushed you to find answers when no one else could have. I'm in it if you're in it. Otherwise, I'm going to build this cabin and live here by myself until I die."

Hermione reached for Harry's hand. "Alright," she said. "I'll go to the Ministry and see what we need to do to get the land. You work on the plan for the house and we'll figure out the magic together."

Harry nodded. "Sounds good," he said before they stood up. They apparated back to Grimmauld Place. Harry took out some parchment and sat down at the table while Hermione left for the Ministry. While she was gone, Harry drew out a rough floor plan for their cabin. He struggled a little on the bedrooms. Did he plan for one bedroom? Two? Hermione had been at Grimmauld Place since he sent her that letter. And while she had been sleeping in Harry's bed, the two of them hadn't moved to a physical level in their budding relationship. Were they taking things slow intentionally or was it a lack of communication?

Hermione had been the one to kiss him first. Was she now waiting for him to taking things further? What were the rules when dating your best friend?

Harry sighed and tossed his pen down on the table. Out of habit, he stood up and got a glass from the cupboard and filled it with Firewhisky. He sat back down at the table with it and looked at his floor plan again before he decided that the best course of action was to draw up two of them. One with one bedroom, the other with two, and then see which one Hermione liked better.

*~*)O(*~*

When Hermione returned from the Ministry, she saw Harry passed out on the table. There was an almost empty glass next to his head and parchments on the table. She picked one up and looked at it, noticing that it was a floorplan with two bedrooms. The second one she looked at was the same floorplan but with only one bedroom.

She looked back at Harry. His glasses were skewed from sleeping on his arm. There was ink on his hands from the parchments. The pen he'd used had rolled away from him. She picked up the glass next to his face and sniffed its contents. Firewhisky. She coughed and the smell of the strong alcohol and took the glass to the sink. She set it down and then turned back to Harry.

Before she woke him up, she thought about the last couple of days. She had gone from the verge of her nuptials with Ron to an are-they-or-aren't-they relationship with Harry. She knew he was all in. She needed to decide if she was as well.

Seeing the two different floor plans made her realize that Harry had his own doubts about what she was ready for. She sighed and ran her hands through her bushy hair. Crookshanks jumped up onto the counter beside her and nudged her with his head. Hermione instinctively picked him up and hugged him tightly, scratching him behind his ears. He purred loudly just for her.

"One room or two?" Hermione asked.

Crookshanks gave her one short meow.

Hermione smiled and kissed his forehead before she put him down on the floor. She walked up to the table and put the one-bedroom floor plan on top of the two-bedroom one before she gently woke Harry.

His eyes fluttered open before he squinted and let out a moan. He brought his hand up to his head and held it for a moment before Hermione tapped his shoulder with her wand, sobering him up and relieving his headache. He blinked at her, then looked around as if confused.

Hermione kissed his forehead. "You drank too much?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "I only had one glass," he said. He squinted his eyes again. "I think?"

Hermione brushed the hair away from his forehead. "I got everything squared away at the Ministry," she said. "We own the land now."

Harry nodded. "That's great," he said. He rubbed his eyes before he looked down at the floorplans he'd designed. "I didn't know how many bedrooms…" He pushed them toward her and Hermione handed them back.

"I already looked at them," she said. "The one on top is my favorite."

Harry looked down and saw that she'd chosen the one-bedroom plan. He smiled as he looked back at her. "Yeah?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah," she confirmed. She leaned in and kissed him, tasting the Firewhisky on his breath. "I want to grow old with you," she said. "Not just as your friend, but as your partner. I want to be the person you confide in. I want to be the one you wake up next to. I want a life with you, Harry Potter. And I want it to start today."

Harry grinned before he kissed her. "I'm glad to hear it," he said.


End file.
